Tears were slowly dripping down on the parchment in front of her, that was supposed to be an essay for Professor Snape, but instead she'd scribbled broken hearts all over the paper, along with one single name.
Harry Potter.
The thought of him and his tousled black hair, piercing green eyes made her heart skip a beat, but only to be deflated as his words entered her mind.
I don't love you, I'm sorry. I hope we can still be friends though. I would hate to lose our friendship.
New tears welled up in her eyes, and spilled over. Her stomach churned painfully, and she clutched it tightly with her hands, pressing tightly.
Whoever said love was something good, something precious to hold onto was wrong. Love brings nothing but pain and misery.
No one else was in the common room, since it was late at night, so she could cry freely, without having to worry about someone seeing her.
She waved her wand over the parchment, and the black ink disappeared, leaving the paper empty once again. Only to be filled again with useless scribbles.
A sob escaped her mouth as she thought of what had brought her here. She felt so empty, humiliated.
It was dinner in the Great Hall, chatter and laughter rang through the hallways as Ginny Weasley was walking down the stairs, a wide grin etched on her face, and her fiery red hair swinging behind her as she skipped to the door, giggling softly to herself.
"Today is the day, the day that I will confess." She sang softly to herself, too quietly for anyone to be able to hear.
She opened the oak doors, and restraining herself from skipping, she walked calmly to the Gryffindor table, feeling giddy when she saw Harry's black hair in the throng of Gryffindors. She slipped down on the seat beside Hermione Granger, Harry's best friend and one third of the Golden trio.
On Harry's right side sat Ron, her brother, who was stuffing his face with food while Hermione scolded him for eating like a pig.
Just like every other day.
Ginny smiled brightly at Harry, who smiled back and greeted her, before turning back to his food, and to her shock, he was reading a rather thick tome. She was one hundred percent sure that it was borrowed from Hermione.
She piled a good amount of food on her plate before digging in, though her manners were much better than Ron's.
The rest of the hour quickly passed, and Ginny got more and more nervous at the thought of what she was about to do, but as they rose up to exit the room, she asked to speak with Harry in private, completely missing the look of horror crossing his face before it settled down on his usual gentle smile.
She led the two of them to an empty hallway, far away from prying eyes, and she took a deep breath before speaking up.
"Harry, ever since the day I first met you, at King's Cross when you were only eleven, I fell in love. Though then it was only for your looks and your gentle demeanor, but over the years, the love turned into the real thing, after I got to know you.
"I love you Harry." She whispered, staring into his green eyes with her own hazel brown ones.
"Ginny… I… I don't love you. I hope we can still be friends though. I would hate to lose our friendship." He said, putting a hand on her shoulder, and though she wished nothing more than to shrug it off and run away, she remained still, fighting back the tears that were threatening to fall.
"It's okay, I understand. And of course we are still friends." She said, and was happy that her voice didn't quiver too much. "I have to go now, an essay to write!"
She quickly walked away, knowing she wouldn't be strong enough to be around him without breaking down, all the while wondering why he didn't feel the same.
Am I too ugly? Not good enough?
Footsteps could be heard walking down the stairs, and she quickly dried away her tears, and erased the hearts from the paper, pretending to be busy writing.
"Hi Ginny, didn't know anyone was still awake." She recognized the voice as Hermione's, and she quickly flashed a smile towards the latter, before turning back to face the parchment, a quill poised over the paper, but nothing came to mind.
Only his name, and the scene, that kept replaying over and over again in her mind.
"I'm sorry." Hermione mumbled, and Ginny turned to look at the brunette, who was staring at her with teary eyes, for reasons unknown to the red-haired girl.
Ginny stared at Hermione, confusion shining in her eyes as she watched the girl in front of her shift uneasily on her feet, before squaring her shoulders, and quickly walking over to the red-head.
She quietly wondered what the brunette wanted, as she stared at the former with her honey-brown eyes, revealing all of her emotions to the latter; who was confused at what she saw.
Love. Sorrow. Hurt.
But before she got to dwell on it for too long, she felt a pair of soft lips descend on her own, kissing her gently before backing away.
Ginny could only watch as Hermione ran away from the room, up the stairs to the Girl's dormitory. Absently Ginny touched her lips, feeling a small tingling feeling there.
She turned her head back to the table, and stared at the words that were written on a small piece of paper.
You are not alone. I love you.
It wasn't signed, but Ginny knew who it was, and a small smile played at the corners of her lips as she took the paper in her hands, smelling the soft fragrance of lilies in the air.
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A/N: I had no idea how this would turn out, and was quite surprised by the ending. I don't usually write these kinds of stories, but I think it turned out quite well.
Just so you know, I am also writing a novel-length story that will be about Hermione's first year at Hogwarts, though it will be AU. I will also try and write up till seventh year, but we will have to wait and see. There is still a long way to go.
R&R!